American chef,  NY restaurateur and television producer, Chef Daniel Kay, shares a great game day
appetizer with us!!





Beer Battered Fried Okra Stuffed with Crabmeat
and a Spicy Green Onion Dipping Sauce

Some of the most tasty and irresistible foods are deep fried. Try this favorite
vegetable of the south, Okra. But it simply doesn't stop there...it's stuffed
with crabmeat and is accompanied by a spicy, green onion dipping sauce. You'll
keep going for more!


* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon Creole mustard
* 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
* Juice from 1 lemon
* 1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped green onions
* Salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup olive oil
* 1/2 pound crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
* 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
* Freshly ground white pepper
* 24 large fresh okra
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 6 tablespoons Abita Beer
* 2 egg yolks, beaten
* 6 tablespoons milk
* 2 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
* Vegetable oil for deep-frying


Instructions


Preheat the fryer. In a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, combine the
egg, mustard, 1 tablespoon of the garlic, the lemon juice, jalapeno and green
onions. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. With the machine
running, add the olive oil in a steady stream. Process until the mixture is
thick and smooth. Reseason with salt and pepper.

In a mixing bowl, combine the crabmeat, cream cheese, and remaining garlic. Mix
well. Season with salt and white pepper. Using a sharp knife, split each okra in
half, removing the seeds. Stuff each okra with about 1 tablespoon of the
filling. Press the okra tightly, sealing the filling inside.

In another mixing bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Whisk in the beer, egg
yolks, and milk until the mixture is smooth. Season the batter with salt and
pepper. Cover the batter and let rest for 30 minutes. Uncover the batter and
fold in the beaten egg whites. Holding the stem of the okra, dip each stuffed
okra into the beer batter and carefully drop into the hot oil. Fry until golden
brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
Serve the okra hot with the dipping sauce. Garnish with parsley.

Yield: 24 pieces

This Super Bowl snack will be sure to
win over your guests

Chocolate Truffle Cake

This cake is sinfully rich and velvety. Its perfect paired with a cup of hot espresso. Enjoy!
1 Pound of semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
10 Tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) salted butter
5 Eggs, separated, room temperature

Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler over gently simmering water; stir until smooth. Remove from heat and cool.

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Generously butter a 9 inch springform pan. Beat yolks to blend. Stir into cooled chocolate. Beat whites to stiff peaks and gently fold 1/4 of whites into chocolate to lighten. Fold in remaining whites. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 12 minutes; do not over bake (cake will be loose). Cool completely in pan.
Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce!!!!!

I don't remember where this recipe came from, but I have been making these cookies for many years. It is my daughter Danielle's favorite recipe for biscotti. Joy and I decided to make these cookies much smaller than we usually do and paired them with a delightful chocolate dipping sauce. Here is a serving suggestion: Serve the chocolate sauce in an espresso cup and saucer. Dunk one cookie in the cup with the chocolate and put a few more on the saucer and serve! So elegant!

Biscotti Recipe

1/2 oleo(nana's name for margarine) or butter
1 cup sugar
3 cups of flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons orange flavoring
1/2 cup chopped red candy cherries
1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel
1 egg white
1 tablespoon sugar

Beat margarine in a large bowl, with mixer on med for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup sugar and baking powder mix till combined. Beat in whole eggs and egg yolk Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer and stir in the rest. Add candied cherries, orange flavoring and peel.
Divide dough in half, shape each 1/2 into a 12x1x1 in log (or so) on the lightly greased cookie sheet, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake @ 375 for 20 to 25 minutes, cool for 1 hr then cut small slices on a diagonal. Place slices cut side up on un-greased cookie sheet and bake an additional 10 min turning oven down to 325, turn over and do the same. (Watch them, everyone's oven is different)

Chocolate Brandied Dipping Sauce

2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
6oz chocolate, chopped (can use chips)
2 tablespoons brandy

Put all ingredients in a small sauce pan over low heat till combined

A new food trend, who knew?

      It is a year filled with new promises, dreams and the next phase in food trends!  We are seeing different foods from other cultures popping up all over. One of the top food critics predicted that this years favorite cuisine would be Austrian. Another reported that Indian food was it!

      When you think of Austrian food a few things that come to mind are most likely an apple strudel or a schnitzel. What's a schnitzel?  It is a boneless piece of veal sliced very thin and coated with bread crumbs and fried. But to me, it sounds an awful lot like the recipe for a good ol' piece of veal parm without the sauce!  

       Austria is filled with people from all around its borders, a sort of multi-ethnic melting pot with Hungary being one of them. My husband is from Hungary.  Every so often I try to make a Hungarian recipe for dinner that my mother-in-law taught me when she was here on one of her summer vacations. I have tried all the traditional dishes like Goulash, Chicken Paprikash and lots of different soups. Most dishes were always served with a side of pasta-like, dumpling-ish noodles she called, "Nokedli". After they were done I realized that they looked a lot like the German spaetzel, pronounced like this: SHPAYT-zlee., and that the recipes are quite the same. The name changes depending on where you are from. It is an egg type batter that is dropped from a sieve or grater directly over and into a pot of boiling water. Its hard on the hands, so I do recommend using a spaetzel maker. You can get them anywhere and they are very inexpensive. They are done in a matter of minutes and ready to serve any way you wish. Some popular recipes are sauteed in butter with onion or served with hot brown gravy.

      Here is the recipe my mother-in-law gave me many years ago. It is very quick and easy and comes together in a minute. I must say I was very proud of myself! Who knew what I had been making for years would be the new food trend for 2010.  Enjoy!

Spaetzel ( Nokedli)

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

 a sprinkle of nutmeg (just a sprinkle)

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup milk

Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl

Add milk alternately with the egg to the dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixer

bring a large pot of water to boil and drop from a grater (or maker) directly over and into pot of boiling water. When they rise to the surface they are done. About 2-3 minutes.

An Italian Tradition

     All through the holidays, different cultures have different traditions. On New Years day, our family always prepared lentils or "little coins" for the family meal. The lentil is an annual plant in the legume family. A variety of colors exist ranging from yellow, red, brown to black. We always inspect them for stones or debris then boil them with a type of broth. 

 

      Lentils can be used in a variety of ways. They are a great addition to soups and stews, risotto and even hash. As we were doing our research for this article we came across a recipe for a lentil lasagna. Lasagna you ask? Yes, even lasagna! Our Nana would always make a thick lentil soup for Papa Tony, on New Years Day, using a ham bone, to flavor the broth, lots of onions, carrots and tiny pieces of ham. We never really knew why she always served this year after year until we grew older and finally asked why. This is what she said, "your great Grandmother Nelli, always said you must always have a dish containing lentils for the New Year. This will bring a plentiful year filled with lots of good health, happiness and good fortune. The lentils resemble tiny coins or pennies and when cooked they grow in size and become plentiful."  Who couldn't use that wish for the new year? We would like to share with you great grandmother Nelli's recipe for this comforting old time tradition. Judy and I wish each and every one of you a safe and Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Great Grandmother Nelli's Lentil Soup

 

1 ham bone (previously frozen and left over from Christmas dinner!)

1 pound dry lentils (sorted through)

3 tablespoons olive oil (Grandmother never measured, if you want to use more, go ahead)

2 good sized medium onions, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks

2-3 ribs of celery, chopped

6 cups water or broth, more if needed

salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for garnish

 

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, carrots and celery about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more. Add the ham bone. Pour the water/broth into the pot and simmer soup for about 1 hour, covered, or until the lentils are tender. If soup is to thick, add more broth. You can serve with rice or a small pasta, such as ditalini or tubettini. Enjoy!!

 

Winter White Chocolate Bread Pudding
with Raspberry Drizzle

 

Judy came up with this recipe to satisfy both herself and her husband. She loves white chocolate and he loves raspberry. Together they make a great holiday dessert. You can serve this hot or cold, either way it is just delicious!

 

3 cups heavy whipping cream
10 oz good quality white chocolate
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
8 yolks + 2 whole eggs
1 loaf French bread, about 10oz cut into 1/4 in pieces (cubes)

Heat cream and chocolate in a sauce pan. In a double boiler, heat milk, sugar, whole eggs and yolks. Place egg mixture a little at a time into cream/chocolate mixture.  Place bread pieces into a 9x9 lightly sprayed glass baking dish. Pour 1/2 of egg mixture over bread and let sit 15 min to soak. Pour the remaining egg mix into baking dish , cover and bake 1 hr. @ 275. Remove cover and bake an additional 15 min till golden.

 

Ruby Red Raspberry Drizzle

2 (10oz) packages of frozen raspberries
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon Chambord or Framboise

1. push raspberries threw a strainer and put in medium size saucepan
2. Add jam to juice in saucepan and bring to a boil, remove from heat 3. Dissolve cornstarch in liquor, whisk into sauce
4. Cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly till boiling and thick

It can be refrigerated up to 1 week. Makes 11/2 cups

Our national debut with "Better" better.tv

Welcome Home Soldier

                                              
 The  chocolate chip cookie has been a favorite for decades. Some add oatmeal, M&M's, peanut butter and nuts. The traditional cookies were invented, accidentally, by Ruth Wakefield in 1934. Ms. Wakefield owned the Toll House Inn in
Whitman, Massachusetts and served these gems to her customers. It is reported that Ms. Wakefield had run out of her baking chocolate and substituted a chocolate bar that was given to her by Andrew Nestle. (sound familiar?)

During WWII, the GI's from Massachusetts shared these cookies, that they received in care packages from back home, with soldiers from other parts of the United States. Soon hundreds of GI's were writing home about the crunchy little cookie asking for more. And the nation-wide craze began.
A wonderful young man has entered our lives and our hearts this year...he is an American soldier. With much hesitation and sadness we wait for his orders to deploy. Pride, fear and silent tears overwhelm us as we watch him leave...

Judy and I will be honoring our brave men and women this holiday season as we bake this old, war time favorite waiting anxiously for their safe return. My daughter and I will wait patiently, once again, until we can say the words "welcome home soldier" and until then, may God be with you....